Thread: Lapping My Norton

Here's one for all the actual long time Honemeisters. You know me, I seem to like bashing my head against the brick wall until I have a headache and only then, stop to ask why I've got a migraine.

I dug my hone out of storage in a cold damp basement a few weeks ago to find small green dots of fungal communities growing, mostly on the 4k side. I had some 800 grit sandpaper on hand and thought this would be ok to take those off. It was advertised as wet/dry when I bought it, but when I used it on my hone it stained the stone brown like the paper. It might just be the eBay blades but honing has been a PITA since then. HHT is very difficult to achieve consistency on and the shaves are a bit scratchy. A few days ago I decide to take it to some 2000 grit automotive wet/dry which has scoured the stains away, but only at the two ends of the hone. The middle remains stained and one corner now looks a little grey like the 2000 grit paper. I did this on the bathroom counter top, not the recommended glass.

I'm off to Lee Valley later today and my questions are these:
1. Am I correct in assuming that the staining is actually imbedded 800 grit material in my 4k stone and I should lap that puppy pure white again.
2. Will this stuff do or should I look to something else? I really want to make sure I'm not compromising my stone any longer by adding a different sandpaper grit.
3. If I do go the wet/dry sandpaper route do I want to steer clear of grits above a certain number to keep the stone clear of particulate?

X

Xman,

When I had the same problem with my Norton (living as I do in a monsoon climate) I soaked it in a bleach solution and it cleaned it up nicely.

Hal

X,

The answer to first Q is yes. The stone should be white as snow. I had some spots developed at the begginig (mold?), but I didn't gave them much thought. After some sandpaper and pumice stone lapping some 5-6 month ago, now my stone is fine. Try lapping with sandpaper, wet, and start with 600-800-1000(1500). But before everything else, try cleaning the stone with boar hair shaving brush and hand soap. It should clean the stone, too...

Nenad

And one of the $29.95 Norton Flattening Stones is a very worthwhile investment, as well.

If you're storing it in the plastic box, it WILL develop mold. Don't leave it lying flat on a non-porous surface. At least line the bottom with a rag before placing it in the box, which you ofcourse, will not be closing. Good luck bro!

Originally Posted by superfly

... After some sandpaper and pumice stone lapping some 5-6 month ago, now my stone is fine. Try lapping with sandpaper, wet, and start with 600-800-1000(1500). But before everything else, try cleaning the stone with boar hair shaving brush and hand soap. It should clean the stone, too...

Tried all that, except my pumice is hidden in a box somewhere.

Originally Posted by Joe Chandler

And one of the $29.95 Norton Flattening Stones is a very worthwhile investment, as well.

Can't find one in my area.

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

If you're storing it in the plastic box, it WILL develop mold. Don't leave it lying flat on a non-porous surface. At least line the bottom with a rag before placing it in the box, which you ofcourse, will not be closing. Good luck bro!

I know all this now, I'm trying to deal with the problem as it exists. Further prevention should be fine.

X

I have a Shapton flatening plate and the Shapton grits and I find they do a great job of lapping the Norton. As a matter of fact I have to be careful to use the finest grit.

In your case once you've inbedded the grit in the stone your going to have to do some heavy duty grinding to get beyond that layer which is loaded with the grit you used. Probably some heavy duty sandpaper and the glass plate is what you need.

If the 2000 grit only removed the stains in some places then your hone is not flat. Buy or find a very flat surface and lap on that until the stains are all gone and the entire surface is all the same color and texture. You can start with a 320-600 grit for a majority of the work but be sure and finish with 1200-1500-2000 grit. Then place the hone under running water and rub it with a nylon scrubbing pad or your fingers to remove all embedded grit from the sandpaper. Following that I would first use a scratch razor to make sure that all foreign grit has been removed.

Hope this helps,

Originally Posted by xman

Here's one for all the actual long time Honemeisters. You know me, I seem to like bashing my head against the brick wall until I have a headache and only then, stop to ask why I've got a migraine.

I dug my hone out of storage in a cold damp basement a few weeks ago to find small green dots of fungal communities growing, mostly on the 4k side. I had some 800 grit sandpaper on hand and thought this would be ok to take those off. It was advertised as wet/dry when I bought it, but when I used it on my hone it stained the stone brown like the paper. It might just be the eBay blades but honing has been a PITA since then. HHT is very difficult to achieve consistency on and the shaves are a bit scratchy. A few days ago I decide to take it to some 2000 grit automotive wet/dry which has scoured the stains away, but only at the two ends of the hone. The middle remains stained and one corner now looks a little grey like the 2000 grit paper. I did this on the bathroom counter top, not the recommended glass.

I'm off to Lee Valley later today and my questions are these:
1. Am I correct in assuming that the staining is actually imbedded 800 grit material in my 4k stone and I should lap that puppy pure white again.
2. Will this stuff do or should I look to something else? I really want to make sure I'm not compromising my stone any longer by adding a different sandpaper grit.
3. If I do go the wet/dry sandpaper route do I want to steer clear of grits above a certain number to keep the stone clear of particulate?

X

Well actually I did get teh silicon carbide honing compound and let me tell you this stuff cuts like magic. Inside three minutes I had all the 800 grit residue gone and a perfectly flat surface. Very fast.

Interesting thing was the mold was still there under the discolouration. Since it was flat I still honed on it which was a mistake for two reasons. The silicon carbide residue impeded a shaving edge on the razor and caused some staining too. I'm sure a little soap and a nylon brush would have gone a long way there. Also the mold was damaging to my skin. I've been fighting back two nasy boils on my neck for the last few days and I can only think that this was the reason. I've had no other skin problems since starting straight shaving. The boils are almost gone now and the hone has recieved a thorough bleaching.

The only other thing I might recommend for others is to move from the 90x grit to the 180x for a smoother finished surface. I didn't get the 180x and seem to be doing alright, but I may end up looking for some anyhow.

X